5 Ways To Create Meaning In Your Life — No Matter The Circumstance

I wasn't raised in the burbs. I was raised on 40 beautiful acres of peach and apple orchards overlooking the Colorado River. But, as most small-town kids do, I had dreams of moving to the big city (Denver) and starting an "exciting life." Now I go home to the small town I grew up in maybe once a year, but my day-to-day life exists in a suburb in the foothills of Denver.

It's a great neighborhood with lots of kids, it's very safe, schools are close by, it offers tons of community activities, and everyone is pretty much middle class. Cultural diversity doesn't really exist, unless you count the Canadians down the block and our neighbors who adopted internationally. It's a great neighborhood, and an easy life.

I'm not writing this to take a jab at the 'burbs (or my neighbors, should they read this). I know how fortunate I am to have this life and the beautiful people who are a part of it. I'm writing this because I've never found it easy to fit in here. I often find it hard to connect with the other moms and sometimes don't have anything to add when we talk about our families. Let me explain.

My life has not gone as planned. In many ways, it's the opposite of what I thought it would be when I moved here right out of high school.

I'm the woman who's been divorced. I have two sons who are in their early 20s while I am still raising an 8-year-old with my second husband (who is younger than I am). I'm the mom whose oldest son passed away from an accidental overdose while home on leave from the Army six years ago. I'm the Mom who would prefer a weekend alone at the yoga ashram to the girls' day at the spa. My dad passed away when I was 16, and I have very limited contact with my mom. There's no going home for the holidays in my family. I'm different.

But these life experiences have given me grit, taught me resilience, and shown me how important it is for us to listen to our inner wisdom to create a life that is uniquely and radiantly ours despite what happens to us, good or bad.

I don't believe we have to experience a life-altering event to deepen the meaning of our lives, but I do believe everyone benefits when we act in alignment with our own personal soul-map and quit looking outside for what our life should look like. Below, I've shared the ways you can add meaning to your life, even without an obvious, paradigm-shifting experience:

1. Become a better listener.

Listen with the intent of understanding what the other person is trying to convey rather than trying to jump in with a response. Then, follow up with a question rather than your opinion.

2. Stop comparing yourself to others.

This can go both ways: comparing yourself in a way that makes you feel superior to the other person (judgment) or allowing yourself to feel diminished by assuming someone is better than you. It's better to practice compassion and assume we are all equal (equal in our beauty and our suffering) and let go of what makes you or another feel bad.

3. Connect to your own inner wisdom.

Always looking to others to tell you what to read, watch, or wear is exhausting. Start with a short mindfulness practice of sitting quietly for a few minutes each day. What do YOU want to read or wear today? Where are you out of alignment with your own integrity?

4. Do something that makes your soul sing.

OK, so no one will take that pottery class with you at the local community college, or they think your interest in reiki is really "woo-woo." Go for it anyway. You will meet new people who might be more like you and learn something fun that is uniquely yours.

5. Let go of guilt.

Stop finding ways to affirm that you're not enough. So, you sent your kid to school without lunch (again), or maybe you forgot to turn in the permission slip (again). Your child, and you, will survive just fine. You get to choose how you speak to yourself in these purely human moments that we all experience. Choose self-compassion. You are enough.

Bonus: Be the weird one!

Take it from the mom who is always the weird one. When we step into our authenticity and live rooted in resilience against outside influences, people dig that shit! And it gives them permission to do the same!

More than anything, just be the most beautiful version of you with this one wild and precious life you have.

by Paula Stephens

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-26222/5-ways-to-create-meaning-in-your-life-no-matter-the-circumstance.html

Rose-Infused Ice Cubes, An Icelandic Secret For Amazing Skin

 

Bring the beauty of your garden indoors, and if you don't have a garden, fear not, dried floral petals and buds are easy to get your hands on. My favorites are rose, basil, parsley, sage, and lavender, but I'm also partial to lemon balm, which reminds me of my childhood patio.

Great tassels of drooping, bright fuschia flowers, clary, blue sea lavender and argyranthemums—the floral equivalent of your granny—are begging to be put gently into ice cube molds. Yup, faced with all these blossoms, I'm reminded of something a new mom said to me: "Once you've had a baby, you can't put it back."

Just think about where all the possibilities that your literal or online foraging could take you. Like lip stains made from cherries and beets, blush from marigolds, or rinses from nettles and chamomile, herb and floral ice cubes are a fun way to infuse your beauty rituals with a unique and truly potent touch.

In Iceland, using flowers and herbs in ice cubes is part of day-to-day culture for pore tightening, inflammation-reducing, and skin-brightening benefits. Herbalist Anna Rosa Robertsdottir's encyclopedic tome, Icelandic Herbs and Their Medicinal Uses, is a brilliant and comprehensive anthology about the medicinal powers of 90 native herbs in Iceland. Reading it is like being driven around breathtaking fjords, up through icy waterfall-plunged cliffs growing herbage you'd want to pick in a heartbeat, and down into fragrant shrubs lying breathlessly by the ocean. But back to reality.

The best part about this DIY adventure is how easy the ice cubes are to make. And remember, if you have any leftover herbs and flowers, I'm thinking specifically mint, then you're all set for the most delicious chocolate petals you ever did taste!

Ingredients List

• Ice cube mold
• 1 cup rosewater
• 1 cup dried rose petals or rosebuds
• 3 drops rose essential oil
• 1 cup distilled water
• ½ cup aloe vera

How-To

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, stir gently, and then pour the liquid into each of the ice molds. Top each one with your chosen herb/flower before you place the trays in the freezer and patiently wait until your concoction is solid.

When you're ready to use the cubes, just pop the ice blocks out and gently roll one all over your face and neck, paying special attention to the eyelids and sides of the nose. Finish with a spritz of floral water like rose, chamomile, or lavender. You'll smell so good and look so sparkly, people will want to know your secret. This time, you should definitely tell them.

by Kayla Jacobs, mbg Beauty & Style Editor

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-25864/rose-infused-ice-cubes-an-icelandic-secret-for-amazing-skin.html

DIY Hair Masks That Bring Dull, Dry Strands Back To Life

As the face behind the holistic-minded lifestyle site The Local Rose, an eponymous line of natural skin care, and a swoon-worthy Instagram feed packed with organic produce and crystals, Shiva Rose pretty much embodies our ideal of beautiful, healthy living. That's why we're thrilled to team up with her for a new series this week covering all you need to know to get gorgeous skin. If you're inspired to learn more, check out her new course, How to Get Glowing Skin Naturally: Ayurvedic DIY Rituals and Recipes for Luminous Beauty.

The women in India are known for their lustrous, long locks. In ancient times, powdered herbs were used to wash the hair, but, these days, shampoos typically have sodium and lauryl sulfates that will only dry out and strip the hair follicles. Ayurvedic brands often incorporate stimulating herbs into their formulas, though, so I use those, and I try to leave either coconut or jojoba oil in my hair for several hours (or even sleep with it in) to keep moisture locked into the shafts.

Of course, including certain foods in your diet can also help keep your hair healthy. I love avocados, coconut meat, aloe juice, nettle tea, fresh juices, buttermilk, yogurt, and nuts. The fatty acids, zinc, and sulfur in nuts also help with hair growth, and I always soak them overnight in water so they're easier to digest. Other tricks I like to use before washing my hair:

• Brushing the hair thoroughly
• Rubbing warmed oil (coconut or sesame) on the scalp
• Applying oil to the crown, working downward and outward with the fingertips, and massaging the scalp
• Using fingertips (with oil on them) to rub the head and run through the strands of hair

But what I really love using are DIY hair masks. These two are my favorites and help solve common hair problems to give you stronger, healthier hair.

If you have thin hair:

• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon honey

Combine banana and honey. Blend really well and apply all over the hair, then cover with a shower cap or towel. Leave on for 15 minutes, and rinse before following your typical shampoo and condition routine.

If you have weak strands:

• 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds (soaked overnight)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon amla powder
• ½ teaspoon bhringraj powder
• hibiscus flowers (soaked overnight)
• warm water
• warm coconut oil

After your fenugreek seeds and hibiscus flowers have soaked overnight, soak the dried powders in the morning. Mix powders together, slowly adding warm water until a paste is formed. In a food processor, grind the soaked seeds and leaves until a fine paste-like consistency is achieved. Combine the dried powder paste with the seed paste. Add warm coconut oil to the paste and mix well.

by Shiva Rose
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-25273/diy-hair-masks-that-bring-dull-dry-strands-back-to-life.html

Argan Oil: A Perfect Product for Great Skin & Hair

I’ve been hooked on argan oil for my hair for months. If you read my blogs, you’ll recall that back in May I went from platinum hair back to my natural brunette—and brown hair needs to be properly moisturized to look great. In stepped argan oil.

I have extremely fine hair and this oil actually gives my hair volume as opposed to weighing it down—with all the other benefits of oils. So, just recently and out of desperation, I decided to try this “liquid gold” on another thing near and dear to me—my skin.

Yes, I’m in my thirties and, yes, I still have trouble with hormonally-driven acne. (It’s wonderful.) Lately, the anti-wrinkle, anti-acne benefits of argan oil for skin have seemed to be everywhere—and I am, after all, completely hooked on it for my hair—so why not give it a go?

Let me tell you, this blog might sound like a paid commercial (I wish), but honestly after just one day of use my skin has looked better than after weeks of trying other, harsher products. I’m now officially hooked on argan oil as an all-purpose—and all-natural—beauty treatment. So do you have to spend a fortune to try it out? Thankfully, no.

 

I’m still in love with my original—and affordable—hair product, Kitoko oil, that I get from my stylist. (It smells fantastic.) For my skin, I likewise had no desire to spend $50 for the coveted Josie Maran brand. Instead, I went to my local Earth Fare and bought the less than $15 Aura Cacia—which is organic by the way. It’s fabulous, and I don’t feel the need to try a more expensive brand; but if that floats your boat you can get the Josie Maran oil at Sephora.

While this might all sound like an infomercial, the only reason for this particular blog of mine is to help other adult acne sufferers who don’t want to put nasty, drying chemicals on their skin (because we now, unfortunately, do have to think about aging and wrinkles). The special thing about argan oil is that it doesn’t, quite shockingly, leave an oily appearance after it dries—and it dries quickly. In fact, I didn’t even need to use the oil blotting tissues that I normally do throughout the day. Liquid gold indeed.

 

I, for one, have been done with sunning and other harmful ways to “beautify” my skin for a little while now. I also eat well—whole, unprocessed foods and lots of fruits and vegetables—so I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have found that a simple product like argan oil actually works. Believe the hype—or at least this girl’s testimonial—and give it a try. Good luck! I hope that you find naturally healthy, beautiful skin and hair at the end of your rainbow.

by Jennifer White
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6019/Argan-Oil-A-Perfect-Product-for-Great-Skin-Hair.html

20 Best Love Quotes to Inspire your Love

Here is a short collection of 20 love quotes which will inspire you to express your love. Love is probably the best feeling that does not depend on any outward beauty. Many poets, artists and musicians have graced us with some extra ordinary lines which makes us feel what they’re feeling and inspire us the most to express our love.

So lets have a look at those words.
20 Best Love Quotes

1-”Love isn’t something you find. Love is something that finds you.” -Loretta Young

2-”Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.” -Albert Einstein
3-”If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.” -A. A.Milne
4-”The love we give away is the only love we keep.” -Elbert Hubbard
5-”All, everything that I understand, I only understand because I love.” -Leo Tolstoy
6-”And in her smile I see something more beautiful than the stars.” –Beth Revis
7-”Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worth while.” -Franklin P. Jones
8-”It’s one thing to fall in love. It’s another to feel someone else fall in love with you, and to feel a responsibility toward that love.” –David Levithan
9-”I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” -Mother Teresa
10-”I love you the way a drowning man loves air. And it would destroy me to have you just a little.” –Rae Carson
11-”Love is a friendship set to music.” -Joseph Campbell
12-”Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.” -Lao Tzu
13-”Where there is love there is life.” -Mahatma Gandhi
14-”At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.” -Plato
15-”Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” -Oscar
16-”To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” -David Viscott
17-”Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.” -Khalil
18-”The art of love is largely the art of persistence.” – Albert Ellis
19-”If you would be loved, love, and be loveable.” -Benjamin Franklin
20-”Love is a better teacher than duty.” -Albert Einstein

Hope you like our collection!

by Md Shahzad Hassan

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2016/03/20-best-love-quotes-inspire-love.html

Jane Fonda On Getting Older, Staying Healthy & Embracing Her 80s (Hint: Yoga Is Involved)

In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Jane Fonda got candid about her approach to beauty, aging and staying healthy.

Though she may have been the queen of aerobics and jazzercise — her 1982 workout video, Jane Fonda's Workout, was the highest-selling fitness tape ever — the 78-year-old actress, activist and writer says she's slowed things down a bit.

"I still work out, although these days I do it slowly. I don't run, I walk. I don't ski, I cross-country ski. I still do resistance training and yoga but I do it very slowly. I'm never going to stop ... the most important thing is to keep moving, to stay active. That's what I do and that's how I stay strong."

She also credits her years of staying fit and active as having laid the foundation for her still-functioning body and strength, despite nearly being an octogenarian: "I have osteoarthritis and getting in and out of a car is a challenge. But I feel lucky that I did a lot of fitness work earlier in my life because it means I'm stronger now."

In terms of the external effects of aging, Fonda admits she's "given [herself] a little help," but is intent on always looking like herself. (The fact that she learned to meditate at 70 has probably helped the aging process, too. Seriously, she looks amazing for any age!)

And when it comes to self-awareness and truly being connected to herself, Fonda says, "you could not pay me to be young again. I don't care how much money I was offered. I didn't like being young at all ... After I turned 60, I began to understand who I was, and I became young again. Now I'm in sight of my 80th birthday and feeling pretty good about life!"

Kudos to you, Jane! Keep rocking your age and embracing the clarity that can come with getting older. After all, 80 is the new 20.

by Allie White, MBG Editorial Team

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-23921/jane-fonda-on-getting-older-staying-healthy-embracing-her-80s-hint-yoga-is-i.html

14 Effective Meditations for Young Children

I have been practicing and teaching yoga for 25 years now, 10 of those years being a monk in an Ashram, and have once seen a 3-year-old sitting crossed legged for an hour meditating with his eyes closed…once!
 
Meditating like a monk is not common or natural for young children; they are passionate about exploring and experiencing the world with all of their senses and being still can seem foreign to them.
 
Nevertheless, children do have stress in their lives, mostly because they have stressed role models (so it is really the grownups that need to meditate more), and meditation can teach them to enjoy the little things in life and savor the moment.

TRY THIS TOO!

Teach Your Kids Belly Breathing with Elmo (VIDEO)

Meditate Not to Achieve Something

Our society is very goal oriented, but let’s try to think now about meditation not as a way to achieve something — like inner peace for example — but more as an opportunity to enjoy the journey and open our eyes to the beautiful world around us and inside of us.

Are you up for a journey with no definite destination to just let ourselves be? Here are 14 meditations for young children you can try.

1. Third Eye Yoga Diamond

Have the children lie down and place a small stone, glass pebbles or crystal on their foreheads. Tell them to focus on it, imagining its color or many colors, feeling its warmth or coolness, its weight, etc.

This magic stone can help you be more calm and relaxed…breathe, and let its magical qualities slowly seep into your body and fill every part of you.

If you had enough of being still, try to move into different poses without dropping the stone, maintaining the same heightened awareness. Try moving into a Candle Pose, Plow Pose, Bridge Pose; slowly try to lift yourself into Crab Pose and other poses.

2. Stop and Listen

Credit: Rainbow Kids Yoga

You will need a Tibetan Medicine Bowl or a bell that makes a very long sound for this game.

Have the children walk randomly around the room, and once you ring the Medicine Bowl, everyone stands absolutely still and closes their eyes. They listen very carefully to the sound, and only once the sound hascompletely disappeared can they start walking again.

Repeat as many times as you like.

3. Silent Bell

Sit knee to knee in a circle, and pass a bell (or a few bells) around the circle. Give each child the opportunity to ring the bell and listen to its sound.

Then try to pass the bells from one to the other around the circle, but this time without ringing them. Show the kids how to do this very gently and slowly. This works like magic to quiet the children and prepare them for relaxation.

Credit: Rainbow Kids Yoga

Because they’re kids, you might have to repeat the game a few times before all of them understand that they should not ring the bell. If the game becomes too easy, pass the bell to someone not sitting next to you by standing up and walking toward them, still maintaining complete silence.

4. Pass The Flame

Same exercise as above but with a candle, passing it from one to the other without the flame blowing out.

5. Bell Circle

Sit in a circle and close your eyes. Have one child hold a bell and walk around the outside of the circle very slowly and softly without ringing it. Then, reaching a person of his choice, he gently rings the bell by that person’s ear and sits in his place as he hands him the bell.

The game continues in this manner for a few minutes, until you guide everyone to open their eyes and discover that everyone has switched places but the circle remained whole.

Both walking around without ringing the bell, and sitting silently in the circle in anticipation of the bell ringing by your ear, is very focusing and calming for the children.

6. Animal Paradise

This game is a good way for children to practice and remember animal poses. It encourages stillness, quiet time and self-control. You will need your Tibetan Bowl for this game too.

Choose a Yoga Animal, or let the children take turns picking an animal, and get them to move about the classroom freely, moving and making sounds as this animal would. When the children hear the bell, they must freeze in that animal pose and stay there quietly until they hear that the bowl has stopped singing.

7. Oh So Quiet

This game can encourage children to stay still for an extraordinary length of time. This is very good for developing their listening and concentration skills. You will need your Tibetan singing bowl, and eye pillows are useful too.

Ask the children to lay down with their hands by their sides, eye pillows on or lights dimmed. Tell the children that you are going to ring the singing bowl and that they’ll need to listen very carefully.

When the singing bowl has stopped, they’ll need to gently place their hands on their bellies. When everyone has their hands on their bellies, ring the bowl again. When the children can’t hear the singing anymore, have them gently place their hands by their sides again.

Repeat these steps for an oh so quiet and tranquil classroom, or for as long as the children will stay there!

8. Sleeping Elves and Fairies

Put on some relaxing music and arm yourself with some fairy dust. Have all of the children rest in Child’s Pose as a fairy or an elf. Walk around and gently tap their backs with your fingertips, covering them in magical fairy dust.

This will give them magical powers to stay as still as possible. Who can lay still for the longest?

9. Still Water

Everyone lies on the floor completely still. If someone moves, they have to step over to the side. In this game, rather than saying “don’t move”, we invite the action of stillness which makes it more fun and more affective.

10. I See Beauty

Walk around the classroom, or even better – outdoors or in nature. Guide the children to stop whenever it feels right to them and look for beauty all around them:

• Looking for something beautiful in front of you silently say “I see beauty in front of me”.
• Looking behind you, recognize something beautiful and silently say “I see beauty behind me”.

Continue the same with your right side, the left side, above you and below.

11. Walking on the Sky

For safety, this meditation should be done in pairs. Have one of the children hold a small mirror under their eyes and walk outside let by their friend.

When you do this, it really looks like you are walking on the clouds so you get an entirely perspective and open your eyes to a whole new world.

12. Ocean Breath

Sit tall or lie down. Place your fingers inside your ears so that you can’t hear anything from the outside. Now breathe deeply and listen carefully. You will hear the sound of the ocean in your breath.

Listen to the waves coming in and out and let yourself become completely relaxed.

12. Finding Our Center

Sitting or standing, lean a bit to the right, to the left, forward and back, until you find your center; the point where you feel most balanced. Now close your eyes and try to feel this center running all the way from your feet, or from the base of your spine, to the top of your head.

Breathe into this center and see how it feels.

14. Buddha Board

This is a special board which you can write or draw on using water. The water evaporates from the board after about a minute and the picture or words disappear.

The Buddha taught about impermanence, about how things are not forever, and the board illustrates this lesson. Each child can come and draw something on the board, but not before the previous creation has evaporated and made space.

Credit: Rainbow Kids Yoga

By using props or doing meditations that are a bit more active, we can engage children in the practice of mindfulness more easily. While experimenting with these, please always remember not to take any of it too seriously or try to achieve some special state of mind.

Life is so wonderful and full as it is, and meditation is maybe just about bringing the focus back to what we already have right here and now.

By Gopala Amir-Yaffe

http://www.doyouyoga.com/14-effective-meditations-for-young-children-76520/

Why You are Always Exactly Where You Need to Be

I was lying on the cold, hard wood floor. The bedroom door was locked even though no one was home.

I was lying on the floor sobbing into the ground, allowing Mother Earth to hold me as I wept and wept. I didn’t even really know why I was crying, all I knew was that I had to cry. I had to let something out, I had to give it space to breathe.

It was in this moment that I just totally surrendered to everything that I felt was “wrong” in my  life. It was at that moment that I accepted everything that was, good or bad, wrong or right, and said- “This is my life and that is ok.”

While these words sound comforting, at the time they made no sense to me. I was hearing them but I didn’t quite understand the fullness of their potential.

It wasn’t until the sun had come up the next day that I could begin to piece together what it all really meant.

Life, no matter what is brings you, what it shows you, what it offers you, what it does for you is exactly what you need.

In fact, where you are right now it is so perfect that the entire Universe couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect place for you to be.

“This place where you are right now, God circled on the map for you…our Beloved has bowed there knowing you were coming.”- Hafiz

You may not feel good about where you stand, you may not like many things about it, but either way it is perfect for you.

For it is exactly what you need to take you to a higher place. To a place that is not only perfect but feels perfect.

Everything around is a clue for how you should proceed forward. If you like what you are seeing, keep going. If you don’t like what you are seeing, perhaps it is time to change course.

Changing course may mean a big change or a little change, an internal change or an external one, either way a change must occur in order for the things around you to also change.

Sometimes things may change for the worse and sometimes for the better, but change is a sign that you are at least moving forward and getting closer to what you desire every time.

All experiences are lessons, all experiences hold wisdom and information that is there for you to take and create with it. All experiences that you experience are perfect for you because it it is what you need to experience.

Why?

Because life is unfolding the vibration of our being. Life is unfolding a combination of our mind and spirit. Life is unfolding around us based on what we believe, see and feel.

A lot of spiritual authors say this all the time- “Your thoughts create your reality” and while it is true, it is not really entirely true.

It is not so much your thoughts that create your reality but more your vibration. Your thoughts can give you a clue to your vibration but it is so much more than that.

Everyone on this planet holds an unique vibration that is not repeated ever on anyone or anything. This vibration is so unique to you that it can’t be replicated.

This is your essence, your song, your tune, your fire, your Divinity, whatever you want to call it, in essence it is you.

This is why the most powerful thing you can be on this planet is YOU. Your true, authentic, free, self. For that is when you are dancing to the tune of your vibration, the hum of your soul.

And, when you are creating from this space everything is perfect. Everything is exactly as it should be because you are creating from the very essence that is you and that in itself is perfect.

The only time things don’t feel perfect to us is when we are creating from only a percentage of our potential. That is, when we are creating from a place of scarcity or fear while ignoring our place of love and joy.

But the beauty is, even if you are creating from a space of fear or scarcity it is perfect, because it is right where you need to be.

Perhaps it is only through creating through your fears that you can learn or grow or transcend something. Perhaps there is a bigger picture vision that is unfolding that cannot be rationalised by the human mind.

Perhaps through your fears you pave the way for more light.

As soon as we become conscious over what we are creating we then have the power to change it, edit it or continue. But, everything is always perfect. It has to be because that is the way nature has intended it to be.

“Everything is perfect in the Universe- even your desire to improve it.”- Dr. Wayne Dyer

 by Tanaaz

http://foreverconscious.com/why-you-are-always-exactly-where-you-need-to-be

9 Natural Beauty Secrets We Can Learn From A 61-Year-Old Supermodel

According to Tina Fey, Christie Brinkley in the eighties was the standard for beauty. Between the flowing hair, perfect skin and bright smile, the supermodel was the epitome of all things gorgeous. Thirty years later, Brinkley still looks just as good (if not better) than she did back in the days of teased bangs and high-cut swimsuit bottoms.

At 61, not only is she still actively modeling, but she's making us ask — nay,beg — what she's doing that has her looking like a 20-something millennial.

Luckily, Brinkley has a new book that outlines her "secrets" for looking and feeling so great. But rather than list hordes of expensive products and recommend pricey trainers, Timeless Beauty offers real, natural, almost-free tips anyone at any age can follow.

I can't promise following her suggestions will land you the cover of a magazine or on a list of the world's most beautiful people, but they certainly can't hurt. And if they leave you looking or feeling even a fraction as good as the sexagenarian, I'd say it's worth it.

1. Embrace the mind-body connection.

According to Brinkley, there's nothing more important to health, beauty and well-being than a positive attitude: "[The mind's] power to influence our health is truly awesome."

Not only has she been meditating since she was 13, but Brinkley is quick to recognize that taking care of yourself, both mentally and physically, is the most crucial part of a healthy body and all the benefits that come with it.

Feeing sad? It'll show up on your face. Stressed? Your hair may suffer. Angry? You may opt to forgo a workout in favor of stewing over something you can't fix right away. But if you take the time to listen to your inner voice, you can be sure to always send it positive messages and in turn, take good care of your spirit and body.

Brinkley says it also doesn't hurt to show gratitude. After all, "a grateful heart is worth a thousand lipsticks."

2. Seek out beauty.

And no, she doesn't mean going after products and procedures you think might result in your own beauty.

Rather, she urges us to look to our surroundings for things that are beautiful, that bring us joy, that make us see the world in a new, interesting, enlightening way.

"I find beauty everywhere — from the beach to the woods to the cracks in a city sidewalk! It fills me up with gratitude and joy ... I am transported by the magic and light, and I literally feel enlightened, both physically and spiritually, by the beauty. There's a saying: 'When you seek beauty in people, and in all things, you will not only find it, you will become it.' "

3. Show off that smile.

Yes, it's easy for someone who gets paid to stand in front of a camera to suggest a simple smile as a powerful beauty tool, but Brinkley is onto something here. Not only does smiling make you look "prettier, happier and more approachable," it also makes you feel happy. That's right: smiling is contagious and even if you're faking it, it can help to lift your mood.

Those good vibes you feel while smiling? They're real, and they show up on your face. "You really can't underestimate the power of a smile," says Brinkley. "Joy is contagious and very, very attractive. In fact, a smile is the best thing you can put on your face to always look your most beautiful."

4. Feed your face (and hair and nails).

Brinkley may have a private chef, but she still knows what's up when it comes to eating for beauty benefits. Even with all the exercise and serums in the world, she admits that what goes in your mouth has the strongest influence on what shows up on your face. Here are some of her favorite skin superfoods:

• Walnuts: the omega-3 fatty acids help strengthen skin and keep it well-hydrated
• Carrots: carotenoids protect against UV damage
• Kiwis: rich source of vitamin C that promotes collagen growth and prevents free radical damage
• Green tea: an antioxidant power house
• Tomatoes: full of the anti-inflammatory lycopene
• Sweet potatoes: their vitamin A promotes collagen repair and growth
• Brazil nuts: high in the mineral selenium, which prevents premature aging
• Oysters: packed with zinc to renew and repair skin and

5. It's never too early to start using products ...

... as long as they're the right products.

Having grown up on the beaches of California, Brinkley knows just how damaging the sun can be to our skin. So her number one piece of beauty advice? "The absolute, single most important thing you can do for your skin is to wear sunscreen. Every single day, rain or shine." This is not a drill. Wear sunscreen!

Another crucial piece of anti-aging advice? Recognize that your "face" actually includes everything above your breasts as far as skin care goes. "I always moisturize not just my face but also my neck, ears, décolletage and the backs of my hands. (Wish I had started doing that part sooner!)"

6. Stay away from your eyebrows!

It may seem silly, but wonky eyebrows are so noticeable on an otherwise gorgeous face, and they're just as easy to let be: "Bringing them too close together will make you look like you're scowling. Extending out and down on the outside edges will make you look sad."

Rather than compulsively tweeze every stray hair or stare into a magnifying mirror, Brinkley suggests stepping back and looking at your brows in the context of your entire face. And stop thinking about them as twins: they don't have to be exactly the same. A little imperfection here and there makes them look real and makes them yours.

7. Never underestimate the power of a good bra.

From posture to the way your clothes hang, a great bra that actually fits is the ultimate weapon when it comes to self-confidence and feeling beautiful.

"Probably the best thing you can do for your wardrobe is to get yourself a couple of great, perfect-fitting bras. Wearing the wrong size can wreck your look — a too-tight band will dig into your back and make bulges, and if the cups are too small you'll literally runneth over. So it pays to get measured and fitted by a professional every couple of years."

8. Have a morning routine.

Being successful, happy and confident starts the minute you wake up, so it's not wonder those among us who feel this way start their mornings off right. Whether it's a yoga practice or a peaceful cup of coffee near a window, taking the time to start your day in a way that makes you happy is the first step to feeling good, which in turn leads to looking good.

Want to know what a supermodel does when she wakes up? "[The first thing I do every morning is] throw open my curtains and say, 'THANK YOU!' Then I make my cup of warm water with lemon. Sometimes I add a little honey to the top edge of the cup and dip it in cayenne powder or cinnamon — the combination helps cleanse and flush out toxins, and it contains vitamin C to boost the immune system and potassium to feed the brain and nerve cells."

9. Do you.

Even if you do everything Brinkley suggests, self-confidence ultimately comes down to doing the things that make you feel good and strong and beautiful. So do you.

"If something bothers you, it's okay to tweak it. We could have a whole discussion here about external pressure we all face to look a certain way. But nobody can tell you what's right or wrong for you."

Photo Credit: Getty Images

by Allie White

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22561/9-natural-beauty-secrets-we-can-learn-from-a-61-year-old-supermodel.html